


Don't Leave

by Lovewithpride1



Series: Voltron [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Galra Keith (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) Angst, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, Keith/Lance (Voltron) Angst, Korean Keith (Voltron), LGBTQ Character, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2020-01-20 15:38:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18528022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lovewithpride1/pseuds/Lovewithpride1
Summary: It started with a lingering memoryThen came a knock on Keith's door...





	1. Knock On My Door

It started with a lingering memory.

The dark and cold night had been lit up by disastrous flames that swallowed a small home, belonging to none other than a boy and his father, taking it and the memories that were littered inside down to the ground carelessly. Smoke alarms blared in sync loud enough for a whole neighborhood to hear, well, if there was one anyways. For now, the deafening sound reached only the two who were trapped inside, and the fire fighters out.

The father rushed to get out while holding his only son close to his body, and covering his small mouth to block the smoke from entering his young lungs while the boy held on tight, using his black bangs to cover his eyes in fear. He had only been up to 7 years old, taught throughout his life what to do in a situation of a house fire, but never stuck in one until that night. Though his skin was surrounded by never ending and growing heat, his small body was shivering frantic and fearfully.

The father stepped over many fallen pieces of wood from the ceiling, followed by some pictures that had been burnt off the wall and crashed to the floor. Time was precious now, it didn't matter what was ruined or left behind, they needed to leave this house _fast._

Yet, the flames knocked down more wood from the ceiling, blocking the nearest door that lead outside to fresh air and trapping the two in their place while sending more and more smoke towards them. The memory started to become foggy at that time, bits and pieces still remained, but one that will forever stick in Keith Kogane's head is the moment where his father screamed to him "I love you!" before tossing his small body out of a nearby broken window, and everything going black until the next morning where he woke up in the hospital. White walls kept the boy inside, a seriously uncomfortable bed propped beneath him with a heart monitor standing not even a few inches away. It was connected to tubes that were sending hydrating fluids to Keith's veins, needles taped into his skin. And one thing was for sure, it all sent sparks of fear to his brain that would last for a decade. 

Confused and petrified, the boy called for his father and pushed himself to sit up, leaning forward to try and look out the half opened door. A woman, likely a nurse nearby had been talking with someone that Keith couldn't see until she heard his soft call and almost immediately dropped the previous conversation as she excused herself, then rushed to his bedside. A sweet smile appeared on her lips while she sat down next to Keith and spoke with a soft and caring voice, "Hello sweetie. I'm Ms. Robinson, do you know where you are right now?"

Keith looked at her numbly, but his eyes were still wide and begging to catch the sight of his father. They wanted to see him so badly, they wanted to know that he was there making jokes and cracking a smile like he always did, they strained to see him healthy and happy yet they were stuck with this stranger. "Where's my daddy?" he asked her and again, the memory started to break into small pieces. Words either turned into muffles or disappeared in total, and the faint beeping coming from the heart monitor was suddenly gone, replaced by silence. Though, the feeling of Ms. Robinson grabbing Keith's hand and her short sentence, that was like a 2 page long essay still remained clear as day for him,

 

_"Your father is in heaven now..."_

 

12 years later, that same young boy was letting that same heart wrenching and numbing memory surface his mind and repeat itself while staring blankly at the one single picture that'd remained safe in that burning house; a selfie of his father holding mini 6 year old Keith in his arms. They both had bright and happy smiles on their faces, so innocent and sweet, with one quick look at this picture from a stranger and they'd assume that no tragedy affected them just a year later. That they were still happy together and grew to know and love each other like any father and son should.

Like they _should._ But they didn't.

Keith's knees were pulled up to his chest and his eyes were red and puffy from the countless tears that continued to fall down his pale cheeks like a waterfall, soaking his bed sheets. While his sobs were loud, Keith cupped his hand over his mouth to muffle them and keep them quiet, because even when the paladins were asleep, he wasn't one to take chances. He didn't want to let people see or hear him cry.

"Dad..." a sniffle. "I miss you." he lifted his head towards the ceiling as if he was searching for his loved one, but just like that memory, he saw nothing but walls of white. Nothing but emptiness and sorrow, heartache.

Then came a knock on Keith's door, and the boy's eyes widened quicker than you could say "quiznack" while he sucked in and held a sharp gasp to keep his crying at bay, his eyes locking and gluing themselves to the door. It was silent for a moment, and just as Keith began to think that the knocking had only been part of his imagination, an all too familiar voice spoke from beyond the walls of his room. 

"Keith..?"

Lance Mcclain. 

Now Keith was _really_ beginning to think that this was all in his head, but curiosity got to him, why the hell would  _Lance_ of all people knock on his door in the middle of the night? Unless he heard the crying, but if so why would he care? He shouldn't care, it's not like he would help him, all they ever do is fight over the littlest things. It was just simple nature for them, an every day cycle, morning to night. He hates Keith, Keith hates him. 

Or does he?

 

 


	2. Hold Me Close

"Keith, I know you're in there. I can hear you.."  
  
Keith was frozen, a statue, no longer breathing or moving and just sitting there as if he had suddenly turned into stone. He never once looked away from his bedroom door, praying for Lance to leave and go back to sleep, to forget what he heard and act like it was all a dream. It would be a miracle, but at the same time even though Keith didn't realize it, it would also be a nightmare.

 _Go away,_ he pleaded silently, _please go away, god please make him leave. I never asked for anything from you, but listen to me just this once, don't let him come in._

"...Fine, I'm coming in."

_No!_

The door opened, revealing a not so well dressed Lance who had a really fucked up bed head and slight bags under his eyes after being woken up from less than 5 hours of his beauty rest. Nonetheless, it wasn't anywhere near Keith's physical and mental state, which was obviously horrible. 

Through the dark, Lance could see Keith trembling while he held his own body, and the mop of hair on his head looked like a squirrel had claimed it as its new nest. He could also see that the boy was in no shape to be awake right now, but yet here he was with eyes wide open, staring at Lance like he was a birthday present no one expected; he couldn't tell if it was good or bad. And barely, just barely the tear stains on Keith's cheeks were visible and gave Lance an internal scare as shock of concern washed through his veins. Never in his time of knowing Keith had he ever seen him cry or so vulnerable to the point where he couldn't move. Hell, he didn't even think Keith _could_ cry at all. After all, he hadn't shown any emotion other then anger, or...really, that was it.

"Keith..." The blue paladin spoke softly and took a step further into Keith's room, furrowing his eyebrows as he closed the door behind him. Keith backed away the closer Lance got to him and turned his head to the side as he attempted to sound unwavering, "Go-away.." it didn't work.

Lance only walked closer to him, finally sitting down on the bed in front of him while his back was pressed against the wall, and his face was away from Lance's sight. "Please Keith, you can't hide this from me. I know you're feeling hurt right now, it doesn't take a genius to figure it out." he kept his voice soft, one because it was late at night and he didn't have the energy to speak any louder than a whisper, and two he didn't want to scare Keith off, not that he was a child. But whatever was wrong, Lance wanted to help.

However, Keith wasn't buying it. He wasn't in the mood to deal with whatever joke he thought that Lance was playing, and he especially didn't want to get close to him at the moment. He's been through this rode before, same pathways and same turns, you get close to someone and they leave you in the blink of an eye, a flicker of a light. Just like _that._ And Keith wasn't about to crash into that same ditch again. 

"You don't care.." The boy said through his voice cracks and labored breathing. "I don't see why you would. All you ever do is fight with me, why change that now?" he scooted himself closer to the wall, sniffling. "Just go..."

Lance had opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out like he intended. It was true, all he ever did was fight with Keith even if it was meant to be a simple conversation. Right from the beginning of their complicated relationship, Lance started the arguments instead of ending them, and his only excuse probably wouldn't be good enough, yet he said it anyways. "I didn't know how else to talk to you, Keith. You were always so angry, you never let any of us get close to you except for Shiro. I guess...I guess it hurt me a bit...but that's not important now." the younger reached over and took Keith's hand, making him jump slightly and look into Lance's crystal blue eyes while they stared back at his violet ones. "I do care about you, Keith...and I'm sorry that I didn't show it before. But I want to make up for it now...please just trust me."

It became quiet while Keith questioned in his head on whether or not he should trust Lance right now. It may turn out good, however it may also turn out bad, bad enough for him to jump out the ship without any armor, and turn himself over to death. 

But he went for it.

He slid the picture of him and his father over to Lance before looking away again, still hand in hand with the other which had been surprising to the both of them, more to Keith than Lance. And the blue paladin looked at the picture carefully, squinting his eyes a bit as he examined the older man and the very young boy who both seemed to be very happy. As said, Lance first assumed that these two had very happy lives. But that all changed once he looked at the little boy closer, those bright eyes, the raven hair, the pale skin, everything on him seemed to be very familiar except for that bright and cheery smile. 

Lance looked up at Keith with wide eyes. "This is you..when you were younger." he stated in a quiet whisper and watched Keith slowly nod before looking back down at the picture. "And this man..."

"He's my dad." Keith finished the sentence before Lance could, moving away from the wall slightly but still keeping the distance between them both, far enough for him to stay comfortable. "That was when I was six. A year later, our house caught on fire...and.." he trailed off, staring at the picture as he began to feel his eyes sting once more, tears collecting until finally they decided to fall down his cheeks once more. He lowered his head and stared at his lap so that Lance couldn't see him cry, and tried his hardest to keep his cool. But no matter what he did, deep breaths and all, it was like his grief wasn't listening and overpowered his whole body.  _I didn't even finish the sentence,_ he thought to himself, _god I'm so weak._

But even when Keith tried to hide it, Lance could see the sadness written all over his face like it was a giant billboard, and his heart shattered from the sight, to see such a strong person break down in tears right in front of him. It leaves someone thinking: _how long has he held all of this in?_ Not a moment later, he pulled the boy over and held him close to his chest in a tight embrace, rubbing his back gently while he leaned against the wall. He propped his chin on the crown of Keith's head, slightly swaying him from side to side. 

The red paladin froze, not expecting Lance to hug him out of the blue like that, and he was so tempted to push himself away, _stay away from human contact_ his mind scolded. But the hug was warm and comforting, and holy hell was it weird to think getting your back rubbed like this felt amazing? Or was it just because he was touch starved? Either way, Keith's body relaxed without his permission as he quietly sobbed in Lance's chest, no longer caring who heard him or what questions he would face later the next morning. He was so physically, mentally exhausted. He needed this cry, he needed this hug, and maybe he could finally break down the walls he build up all those years ago.

And he continued to cry for what seemed like hours when it had only been just a few minutes, shaking softly in Lance's arms until he slowly forced himself to calm down. He didn't remove himself from Lance's hold though, and mumbled in his shirt, "Thank you." and closed his eyes. 

"Hey, Keith it's alright.." Lance whispered into Keith's ear, . "I've got you, and I won't let you go..."

 Now he knew that this wasn't a mistake; to let someone in and comfort you. To let even the most unexpected human being hold you while you cry and treat you like a glass vase, it filled Keith's heart with love. And that was the best thing anyone could ever offer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
